## LaTeX forum ⇒ Math & Science ⇒ Use special character as a variable in a formula Topic is solved

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### Use special character as a variable in a formula

If i write $t=a$ in LaTex, I get "t = a". If I write $t=?$ I get "t =?" but I want to get "t = ?". The ? shall have the same distance from the equals sign as any other variable or letter. Is there a way to to treat the "?" the same way as any other letter in a formula?

To make clear how $t=a$ and t=? look like, I have added a screenshot.
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Johannes_B
Site Moderator
Posts: 4186
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 4:08 pm
A quick and dirty hack would be to set the space by hand.

1. \documentclass{article}
2. \usepackage{mathtools}
3. \newcommand{\iswhat}{\;?}
4. \begin{document}
5. $t=a$\par
6. $t=?$\par
7. $t=\iswhat$
8. \end{document}
The smart way: Calm down and take a deep breath, read posts and provided links attentively, try to understand and ask if necessary.

esdd
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:13 pm
Other possibilities are
1. $t=\mathord{?}$

and
1. $t={}?$